Reporter

The Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission members were united in their beliefs that a developer asking for four exemptions to the county’s zoning requirements should re-evaluate their plans for a five-story student apartment building on Dougherty Street.

The commission met Thursday to consider an application to rezone 165 E. Dougherty St. from Commercial-Downtown to Planned Development.

The property owner, RTSH Holdings LLC, wants to replace an existing office building occupied by the technology startup incubator Four Athens with the proposed student apartments.

An application submitted to the planning department by Campus Acquisitions Holdings LLC asks for waivers to code sections that outline bedroom density (the developer is asking for 27 more bedrooms than the code allows), parking and first-floor leasable commercial space requirements.

John Diedrich, vice president of investments for the Chicago-based developer, said he’s concerned about the long-term viability of wrap-around first-floor retail on the property, but planning commissioners made it clear that “leasable commercial space” doesn’t always mean retail, and there are always quality commercial tenants looking for affordable overhead.

Several on the board voiced a desire to see offices built to foster younger businesses along with a design that would be “more in the spirit of the code that gives people a place to work as well as live,” Planning Commissioner Alice Kinman said.

The density waiver, however, will likely not be an option, considering that the developer hasn’t explained to the planning department why the increased density is warranted.

“We’re not building for tomorrow, we’re building for 20 or 30 years from now,” Athens resident Tony Eubanks said during a public comment period. He urged the commissioners to avoid granting any zoning waivers on the grounds that the existing standards aren’t strong enough.

“I understand that the market dictates what we get, but do we need more downtown housing?” he asked. “If we do, we should stick with the standards we already have and even think about reconsidering those.”

The building’s design wasn’t received well by the commissioners, some of whom used adjectives like “gaudy,” while others were more diplomatic in their criticism.

“It’s a bit stand-outish,” said commissioner Paul Dellaria. “I’d like to see a more classic style.”

No vote was taken on the application, and the commission is expected to meet later this month to consider an updated version of the plans.